Witch Hunt

Preternatural Affairs, Book 1

By: SM Reine

Narrated by: Jeffrey Kafer

There are scratches on Cèsar Hawke's arms, a discharged Glock on his coffee table, and a dead woman in his bathtub. Yeah, maybe he brought the waitress home for some fun-he was too drunk to remember it-but he knows for a fact that he didn't kill her. He's an agent with the Office of Preternatural Affairs. He doesn't hurt people. He saves them.

The cops disagree. Now Cèsar is running.

Isobel Stonecrow speaks with the dead. She brings closure to the bereaved and heals broken hearts. But when she talks to the wrong spirit, the OPA puts a bounty on her head.

Tracking down Isobel is the last case assigned to Cèsar before he bolts. If he finds her, he can prove that he didn't kill that waitress. He can clear his name, get his job back, and bring justice to all those wronged families. She's just one witch.

He's bagged a dozen witches before. How hard can one more be?

©2014 SM Reine (P)2014 SM Reine

I think this story is better than I think it is...

The narration was excellent which is probably why I kept listening to the end. I didn't love this story didn't hate this story...lukewarm is about where I am at. There were several times I felt the main character was falling into the same issue & it made my eyes roll ...Again?? Really? perhaps I was not in the mood for this story maybe I would have liked it better another time? Perhaps. Even though I listened pretty much all just in two sessions I found myself scrolling back often to repeat what just went on. This would mean to me that it just wasn't holding my attention well enough. Nothing really stands out that I can say was my favorite part it was just ok. I would probably read the next book with this main character, now that I've been aquatinted with who he is what he is what he does and the world in which he operates with other types of witches and Supernaturals etc I may be able to enjoy it more. I may even listen again to this, try it another time because something is wrong as I know it wasn't a bad story. I think I have too much else going on in my mind at the moment to have given this enough attention. I will blame myself for not enjoying this as much as I probably should have. So I will even reserve a final judgement until I perhaps read it again. Sorry for this useless review my mind is really elsewhere! I'm just not making any sense even to myself!

I'll listen to the next book.

the story is pretty good, and it kept me guessing till the end. I'll read the next book and decide about the series then.

Listen for yourself....

Any additional comments?

This is the first book in a series and contrary to a recent trend the unfulfilled ending leading into the next book, Witch Hunt can stand on it's own.

I believe it is the characters that make you want to read more. I believe that when a character is written well enough, we just have to know how he treats the next crap thing that happens.

I believe S.M.Reine has done this with Cèsar Hawke. He is smart and very stupid. He is brave and protective. He is a knight in slightly rusty armor. He is the reason I am traveling down the path of this series.

Have you ever had those books that you just want to enjoy? You never get another first read of a good book. I wanted it to last. So I listened to a bit and put it away, repeatedly.

Then, I spent the last hour and a half listening to every word, I couldn't help myself. It reached a point where putting it aside was no longer an option.

This book is funny and twisted and weird in just the right places. It feels like the pilot episode of a good tv show.

I highly recommend taking a few hours and investing. Now, I'm going to bite the Silver Bullet.

Could not turn it off!

This book was so engrossing I wanted to listen to it to the end as soon as I started listening. The story and the performance kept my interest. It was easy to distinguish the characters and there was plenty of action. Get this now! You won't regret it (until you have to turn it off for something as silly as work!)

Really Fun Listen!

This book is how I spent my Sunday afternoon, and I enjoyed it very much. I listened to it because I was in desperate need of a palate cleanser after attempting to listen to Sabrina Jefferies "When the Rogue Returns." (OMG. What a slow read. See my review to come.)

So I scrolled through my iPod and picked this book at random. So glad I did!

Witch Hunt is Book One in a 3 book bundle I got for free (or for .99) on Kindle. Happily, the bundle was also released for cheap on Audible. The author is SM Reine. This important because you can also find other books written by the same author under S M Reine, but you won't find this bundle unless you go to SM Reine. (Clearly this was a spelling error by Audible and should be fixed. Since their search engine sucks, I'm not holding my breath.)

Back to Witch Hunt:

Our hero is Cèsar Hawke, a witch and an investigator for the Office of Preternatural Affairs. After a night out partying with coworkers, Cèsar wakes up severely hung over, only to find the waitress he's been hitting on, dead in his bath tub, and the LAPD beating down the door. He has no idea what happened, but he's 100% sure he didn't kill her.

Well, 99% sure.

What follows is an awesome fast paced man hunt that drives him from a creepy cemetery, (where a necromancer is raising the dead), to the streets of Hell Town -- a scary part of LA hidden from humans where witches and demons live. There are magic spells, interesting relationships, excellent dialogue and great characters. There is also an intelligent plot. Ahhhh. I love those.

The mystery is a good one, and the ending isn't one I saw coming, (and I usually do). I'm looking forward to Book 2, Silver Bullet.

Witch Hunt is very entertaining in the vein of the Iron Druid, though with less whimsey. There isn't a romance, but it ends on a note that makes me think the next book might provide one. Lots of innuendo and flirting, and the incubi are truly creepy!

You could do a lot worse. I know I have.

This one is Highly Recommended!


(Jeffrey Kafer did an excellent job with male and female voices and kept the right tone throughout without forcing the sarcasm. He made this a great listen.)

great series

looking forward to the rest of the series. book 1 did not dissapoint! just ordered book 2.

Too busy without a good storyline.

There is a lot of magic lore and not enough back ground information. Then there is the mystery of finding out who the real killer is so there is a lot of information coming in that way. This feels like two worlds colliding, but not any focus on either one. I also didn't like the main character very much so I didn't really care what happened to him. I read about 3 hrs of this and stopped. I decided I didn't care if I finished so I won't be continuing with this series or even this book. The narrator is okay. I think that if you like Dresden series, this might be for you, just not for me.

Lively & Imaginative

S M Reine has the stat of a real entertaining series here. The characters were engaging and there was a great storyline.

Good But Short!

This book was recommend to me because I like the Harry Desdan series and I was surprised how much I actually liked the story.

The only downside the story is short so scenes change abruptly and you do not get as much details or background information. However, the narrator is awesome so it makes the story great.

Fun

What did you love best about Witch Hunt?

This was a bit Dresden Files like. It was a perfectly entertaining for listening to on a long road trip. I didn't expect much from it when I downloaded it right before I left on a car trip, but it exceeded my expectations. I may end up buying the next one. The narration was perfectly OK.